This invention relates generally to vending machines and more particularly to those which utilize a helical coil to advance items from a storage position within the machine to a chute for discharge to the consumer. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,178,055, 3,335,907, and 3,601,281 disclose various vending machines of this type. The machines usually have a discharge chute mounted on the front or at the side and are designed to hold a plurality of individual item discharge units. The units each have a tray with a helical coil mounted therein. Items are advanced by rotation of the coil by means of a motor activated by the customer after money is deposited in the machine.
In all devices of this type there are inherent problems of friction between the lower edges of the helical coils and the top surface of the trays in which the coils run. Also there are problems in maintaining the helical coils in a fixed relationship and in preventing side-to-side movement of the rear coils of the helix.
There have been different approaches to solving these problems, mainly applying some type of anti-friction coating, such as a smooth plastic tape, to the top surface of the tray.
Also support members have been inserted in the helices to keep the helices raised from the floor of the tray. A construction of this type is shown in Kenney U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,174.
Another problem in these vendors, which is addressed in Ser. No. 35,421, is that of providing different sized compartments in the units to accommodate different sized packages.
Economy of manufacture dictates that the individual units, and hence the trays, be of identical construction. The consumer, however, demands that a wide range of products be made available to him through vending machines. The size and shape of the packaging for these various products varies from the typical sack for potato chips and the like, to packages of various sizes of cigarettes, and to still other packages for thin or little cigars, mints, Lifesavers, gum and other products.
The problem for a manufacturer, therefore, is to provide a standard-sized tray, based quite often on a size necessary for vending cigarette packages, which is readily convertible to handling the smaller mint, gum, or candy bar packages.
While there are various methods for changing the size of the compartments, these earlier devices all result in compartments of fixed size, so that if the operator of the machine wished to change the size on site he needs to disassemble part or all of the unit and possibly has to take the unit back to his base of operations. It is quite desirable that a method be provided for adjusting the size of the units at the site, so that popular items can be included in a particular machine even if they happen to differ in size from the items currently vended from the machine.
Among the patents which have attempted to utilize a spacer of some sort to reduce the size of the compartments are Whistin U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,908,858, and Wittern 3,929,255. However, neither of these units is completely adjustable on site and does not achieve all of the objects and advantages of the present invention.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a helical vending unit in which the rearward convolutions of the helix are held off the floor of the tray in which the helix is running, and further are restrained from excessive sidewise movement in the tray.
It is a further object to provide said helix restraint in combination with a preferred embodiment of the helix and an adjustable divider positioned within the helix to change the size of the merchandise compartments encompassed by the helix and a tray in which the helix runs.
These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.